Night had fallen over the roaring waterfall, its mist drifting like pale ghosts through the encampment. Xiao Kuangyun—illustrious young master of the Xiao Sect—slept soundly in his lavish tent, drooling as he dreamed of the cruelties he would inflict once he captured Yun Che. He imagined the humiliation, the torture… and what he would do to the women around him once the "crippled trash" was taken apart. As long as he found this mysterious expert he sought, someone with connections and skill, tracking Yun Che would be easy.
For now, he had gathered several mid-stage profound practitioners with a simple incentive: three hundred gold coins a day. Enough to make even seasoned experts hunt a "cripple" without asking questions.
Those same experts now stood guard around the camp, stifling yawns and resentment. Their pay was generous. Their young master's mouth even more so.
But all of them felt it.
That unsettling pressure.
That whisper at the back of the neck.
That sensation of eyes watching from just beyond the dark.
"Why do I have a bad feeling?" one muttered, rubbing his temples.
"Night's getting to you," another replied. "Or maybe you're finally going crazy."
"Yeah… maybe." He tried to push away the thought, but exhaustion crawled over him like heavy chains. His eyelids drifted.
Then—
A streak of crimson light flashed past his vision.
He snapped upright—heart pounding. "What—?!"
Nothing.
Only wind.
"…Tch. I'm too tired."
He would never wake again.
His body sagged, collapsing like an empty sack. The nearest guard leaped toward him, shouting for the others. When they flipped him over, their breaths caught.
A perfect hole sat where his heart used to be—clean, silent, fatal.
But there was no arrow. No weapon. No trace.
As dread surged up their spines, they drew their swords with trembling hands.
Eyes sharpened.
Ears strained.
Every shadow suddenly seemed alive.
Shooooo—
Another flash of red tore through the air.
"Where is he—?!"
Before the man could finish, another guard crumpled, a glowing red arrow jutting from his chest before dissolving into mist as if it were never real.
Panic erupted.
"Assassins! Sound the—!"
A red blur punched through his skull, silencing him mid-cry. His body toppled like a broken puppet.
The last two survivors abandoned all thought of battle. Fear tore through their nerves and their legs carried them away in blind desperation. They sprinted through the trees—
—only to skid to a halt.
A figure stood ahead of them.
Cloaked in black.
Mask reflecting the moonlight.
Silent as death.
They blinked—
And the figure vanished.
A cold breath brushed the back of their necks.
Slick.
Their throats opened in perfect, twin crimson lines. Blood sprayed across the moss as both bodies fell at once, eyes wide and uncomprehending.
The black-clad figure wiped the blade clean with practiced ease.
"Four to go," the whisper escaped beneath the mask.
In the next heartbeat, the assassin was gone—swallowed by the night as if they had never existed.
"It's quiet. Too quiet… Where are those fools?"
Xiao Moshan stepped out of the tent, murmuring to the attendants posted outside.
Both attendants exchanged uneasy glances. One finally answered, "We… don't know, Senior Moshan. They were here moments ago. And now—nothing. Not a sound."
Xiao Moshan's expression hardened, but even he couldn't suppress the crawling sensation snaking across his spine. The very air felt wrong—heavy, thick, watching.
Then it struck.
A crushing pressure exploded over the campsite—the kind of profound suppression that erased every instinct except fear. Xiao Moshan froze where he stood, muscles locking as if chains had latched around his limbs. The two attendants beside him collapsed to their knees, trembling.
Even Xiao Kuangyun, jolted awake by the sudden oppression, stumbled out of his tent in a panic. His face twisted with terror the moment he stepped outside.
A black shadow stood before them—materializing from nothing, as if the darkness itself had condensed into human form.
For the suppression to bind even Xiao Moshan, a Spirit Profound Realm cultivator, like an insect… this was no ordinary expert. This was someone far beyond their reach.
Xiao Kuangyun switched instantly into groveling mode, bowing so low his forehead nearly hit the dirt.
"S-Senior! This junior is honored—deeply honored—to meet such a mighty expert under the heavens!"
His voice wavered, but he pushed every ounce of flattery he possessed.
"If senior wishes to speak with us, we are humbled. We are honored!"
The three attendants bowed as well, bodies trembling under the oppressive force.
Xiao Kuangyun swallowed, then prostrated himself fully.
"This lowly junior is hunting a deserter of our Xiao Sect. If senior is willing to assist, this junior will repay you with anything—wealth, favors, treasures—anything!"
A silence fell.
Then—
A deep, cracked voice seeped out of the shadow, cold enough to freeze bone.
"Anything? Then… if I tell you to cripple yourself…"
A pause.
"Are you willing?"
Xiao Kuangyun's breath stopped. Sweat poured down his face in thick streams.
"N-no— I mean—this—"
Xiao Moshan forced his suppressed body to move, stepping in front of his trembling young master.
"Senior, we beg forgiveness! We are merely passing through. If we have trespassed on your grounds, please accept our apologies. We can offer wealth, women—anything but crippling ourselves!"
The fear in Kuangyun's eyes turned manic. The mere thought of becoming a cripple like the "trash" he hunted was unthinkable—unacceptable.
The shadow clicked its tongue.
"Well… that's a pity."
The voice grew colder.
"Honestly, it saves me the trouble of hunting you all down one by one."
The figure stepped forward, leaving the darkness and entering the moonlight.
Red eyes gleamed.
A handsome, cold face emerged beneath the hood of a black cloak.
A Khyber-shaped sword hung at his back.
The oppressive aura peeled away like smoke—yet the killing intent underneath remained razor-sharp.
Xiao Kuangyun's blood ran cold.
The stories.
The rumors.
The whispered descriptions from Floating Cloud City.
"It—It can't be… You— You're—"
His voice cracked.
"Xiao Che? No… no, you're supposed to be a crippled trash! It's impossible!"
The man smiled.
"Let's agree to disagree."
The shadow fully dissipated, leaving Yun Che standing tall, eyes burning with cold amusement.
"Impossible?" He tilted his head.
"You're foolish—but I'll give you this…"
His grin widened, a blade's edge hidden behind innocence.
"Hats off to you for at least recognizing potential."
Xiao Moshan leaned forward, forcing his suppressed voice into a whisper.
"Young master… his aura is identical to a normal mortal's. He must be using a treasure to bind us. If we can catch him—just long enough—I can kill him with a flick of my finger and seize that treasure."
Xiao Kuangyun's eyes lit up immediately. Confidence surged back in.
A grin stretched across his lips before exploding into laughter.
"Hahahaha! So that's all it is? Even after cultivating, you're still trash in my eyes! Trash with not a speck of aura!"
He pointed arrogantly at Yun Che.
"You're not even qualified to speak to me. Now be a good dog and hand over that treasure you used to suppress us."
Yun Che chuckled softly—almost pitying.
"Oh man… the young master of the Xiao Clan really is an idiot."
His smirk widened.
"You didn't realize I was the one who told my grandfather about you?"
Kuangyun froze.
"W–what?"
"That's right. I knew you'd come sniffing after the so-called 'treasure' protecting my family."
Yun Che folded his arms casually.
"I even left that blue barrier specifically to lure you out. And my grandfather? He played with your elephant-sized ego perfectly."
The realization sank into Kuangyun like cold iron.
"You… tricked this young master?! And that Xia Qingyue was in on it too, wasn't she?!"
Yun Che blinked internally.
Xia Qingyue stayed? She helped?
So she had remained after all—and somehow played along with the ruse.
Interesting.
Very interesting.
Not bad, Qingyue. Not bad at all, he thought with a smirk.
If the system put me at seventeen in this timeline… that makes her sixteen. A year younger. Training with Zangetsu must have shifted my insertion point.
Kuangyun erupted in furious disbelief.
"You bastard!!! You dare deceive this young master?!"
Yun Che shrugged, casual as the breeze.
"Hey, don't blame me because you're predictable. You fell for it—and look where we are now."
He lifted his hand, tracing a slow circle in the air like a meme gesture from his old world.
"Coincidence? I think not."
The attendants stepped forward protectively.
"Hmph! A non-cultivator like you dares act arrogant here! We'll take your head and save the young master the effort!"
Both men lunged, True Profound strength exploding outward.
They never reached him.
Yun Che blurred—vanishing in a flicker.
A heartbeat later, he stood behind them.
"W–what?! So fast—!"
Both attendants froze, terror shaking their voices.
Even Xiao Kuangyun's jaw dropped.
Yun Che raised his right hand. His index and middle fingers separated from the rest.
A black surge of spiritual lightning crackled into existence—thick, violent, unnatural.
He smiled.
"I haven't tested this spell since I received it three months ago."
Japanese syllables flowed from his lips like a death sentence.
"Hadō number ninety—Kurohitsugi."
(Way of Destruction #90, Black Coffin.)
The shadows twisted.
A rectangular frame of pitch-black energy rose around both men.
Gravity collapsed inward.
Their bones snapped under the pressure before they could scream.
The black box sealed shut—
—and dozens of spear-like protrusions stabbed inward in a merciless choir of tearing flesh.
Silence.
Then the coffin dissolved.
The two attendants collapsed in grotesque, shredded heaps.
Dead before they hit the ground.
Yun Che flicked his fingers lightly, letting the last sparks fade.
"Level 90 Kidō, no incantation."
He tilted his head, mimicking Gin Ichimaru's playful tone.
"Scary."
Black lightning reflected in his crimson eyes as he slowly looked toward Xiao Kuangyun.
The young master could no longer speak—his voice had died somewhere inside the fear crushing his heart.
====================
[Ding….Congratulation, Host, for defeating an eight-level True Profound Realm cultivator. Experience:…..]
[Ding….Congratulation, Host, for defeating a ninth-level True Profound Realm cultivator. Experience:…..]
====================
Xiao Kuangyun and Xiao Moshan stood frozen, mouths hanging open.
What they had witnessed wasn't a technique of the Xiao Clan.
Nor the Blue Wind Empire.
Nor any clan they knew.
It was art—but the kind painted in blood and despair.
Xiao Moshan felt his scalp go numb.
Even the Xiao Sect's strongest elders… none could unleash something so sinister.
Yun Che's grin stretched wider.
"It was all according to plan."
"D-Dark arts!!!" Kuangyun shrieked, stumbling backward. "He's a darkness cultivator!"
To the Xiao Sect, darkness profound energy was taboo—evil—monstrous.
Kuangyun's legs shook violently, and Xiao Moshan instinctively moved to shield him.
He knew what must be done.
Even if he had to die…
He would get the young master out.
Yun Che stood there in the moonlight, cloak gently fluttering—handsome, composed, and terrifyingly unhurried.
A predator savoring the trembling of its prey.
"Xiao Moshan!!" Kuangyun screamed. "Forget capturing him! Kill him! Kill him for me!"
Even Moshan hesitated.
This… thing standing before him…
Was not normal.
Still, he had no choice.
Xiao Moshan cupped his hands, announcing himself with strained discipline.
"Xiao Moshan, Vice Leader of the Discipline Hall, Xiao Sect."
His tone hardened.
"Xiao Che, stand down. Release us, and the Xiao Sect may overlook this offense."
Yun Che lifted a brow, amused.
"Xiao Sect? Who cares about a nest of useless eggheads?" He gave a mocking bow. "Also, Xiao Che is long gone. The name is Yun Che. Try to remember it for the next ten seconds."
"You… you dare defy the main clan?" Moshan grit his teeth. "You are either foolish or blindly brave."
"Oh, I'm worse than that," Yun Che said with a dark chuckle.
"I'm planning to destroy the Xiao Sect someday. Killing that brat"—he jabbed a thumb at Kuangyun—"is just step one."
A chill ran down Moshan's spine.
Yun Che's aura was still that of a "mortal."
Yet his presence… his confidence…
It felt like a beast at the peak of Nascent Profound—no, beyond.
Yun Che sighed.
"Well then… shall we?"
He activated Heretic Soul.
A black-red ripple twisted around him.
Moshan instinctively stepped back—the air itself vibrated with menace.
Yun Che unsheathed Zangetsu.
In the same breath, Moshan drew his own sword.
Steel clashed.
Sparks danced.
The night broke open with violence.
Kuangyun saw his chance and bolted into the forest like a frightened boar.
Moshan roared, "What did you do just now?! That black box—!"
Yun Che parried lazily.
"The Black Coffin. Not that you'll live long enough to remember it."
Moshan pushed his Spirit Profound Realm strength to the limit, attacking with desperation.
Yet Yun Che met him—not with brute force, but with elegance, precision, and terrifying ease.
So he was never a cripple…?
This monster… is he also Spirit Profound Realm?
Then the 'emperor' terrorizing Floating Cloud City… was him?
Moshan trembled.
But he forced his voice steady.
"I don't care what you are! Even if I die here—my young master escaped!"
"Oh, I wouldn't be so sure about that."
Yun Che's spirit pressure surged.
He swung Zangetsu in a crescent arc.
Moshan barely blocked—then sidestepped as the ground behind him split.
"Here's a free lesson," Yun Che said softly.
"Never offend someone you can't even beat."
Flash-step.
He reappeared in front of Moshan before the man could blink.
Moshan slashed in pure panic.
Yun Che deflected every swing with casual, almost bored swipes.
Then—
CLANG!
Yun Che knocked Moshan's sword from his hands with one brutal parry.
The blade spun through the air and stabbed into a tree.
In the same instant Yun Che flash-stepped in front of him, his palm—glowing with dense spirit force—pressed against Xiao Moshan's abdomen.
He whispered in Japanese.
"Hadō Number One—Shō."
(Way of Destruction #1 — Thrust)
A violent shockwave blasted outward.
Spirit force detonated from Yun Che's palm, and Xiao Moshan's body was hurled across the clearing like a broken spear. He smashed through a tree trunk, ricocheted off the ground, and finally slammed into a massive boulder with a sickening crack.
Even though Shō was the weakest of all kidō spells… in Yun Che's hands, strengthened by Evil Soul and spirit force, it became a dantian-shattering strike.
Xiao Moshan crumpled at the base of the rock.
Blood pooled beneath him.
His profound veins trembled, shattered beyond repair.
His cultivation—scattered like dust.
When Yun Che appeared before him again, Moshan lifted his head weakly, coughing up blood.
"F…finish me, Xiao Che…" he rasped. "Even if you kill me now… my young master has already fled. You won't catch him…"
Yun Che crouched down, expression unreadable.
"I told you before," he said calmly. "Don't be so sure."
His eyes narrowed.
"So. What exactly happened during your visit to the Xiao Clan?"
Moshan's breath rattled.
But he forced the truth out.
"Your… young master… wanted the treasure Xiao Lingxi possessed…"
He coughed more blood, staining the dirt.
"…and he wanted your wife. Xia Qingyue. She told him… if he brought you before her… both she and Xiao Lingxi would willingly leave you."
Yun Che's eyes hardened.
"He sought to capture you," Moshan continued. "He wanted the treasure's secrets… and a way to force Xia Qingyue to obey him. That's why he led a team of cultivators… to drag you back to the clan."
Another cough. This one wetter.
Moshan's voice dropped lower.
"But… she knew."
He managed a faint, pained smile.
"She… knew what you were capable of. She experienced it. So… they tricked us… tricked him… into searching for you."
His eyelids grew heavy.
"Chuckle… Well played… Xiao Che…"
A final breath left his body.
Xiao Moshan's eyes closed for good.
Yun Che exhaled softly.
"Sigh… It's Yun Che."
He gently lowered Moshan's body onto the ground.
A moment of respect—honoring the man who, for all his faults, had died protecting the one he was assigned to.
Then Yun Che raised his hand.
Blue flames spiraled into existence—colder than ice, hotter than fire.
He chanted:
"Hadō Number Thirty-Three—Sōkatsui."
(Way of Destruction #33 — Blue Fire Crash Down)
A roaring blue blast descended, engulfing Xiao Moshan's body.
The impact thundered through the forest, turning flesh, bone, and even the rock beneath him to dust.
The flames extinguished.
Nothing remained—no corpse for beasts to feast on, no evidence of battle, no trace that Xiao Moshan had ever existed.
A clean, complete burial by annihilation.
Yun Che straightened, eyes turning toward the forest where Xiao Kuangyun had fled.
"Now then… time to finish the job."
====================
[Ding…Congratulation on Spirit Profound Realm Cultivator]
====================
Yun Che glanced at his system panel, watching the familiar blue bar—his experience bar—sitting stubbornly at ninety percent. Even though the seventy-percent experience debuff had finally been lifted, the old debuff bar still lingered beside it like a ghost. The original bar… multiplied seventy-fold. The cruel reminder of what he had endured for the past three months.
Three entire months of slaughter, training, and near-death encounters just to crawl his way to Level 30.
Two Spirit Profound Realm kills tonight.
And still only ninety percent.
Anyone else would be furious.
But Yun Che only smiled.
Just one more high-level kill would be enough to overflow the bar, break through, and restore his experience progression back to its normal rate. One more kill. One more step.
And Xiao Kuangyun's pathetic life was right in front of him.
The hunter had become the hunted.
A thought suddenly crossed his mind, and the blackness of his eyes rippled—morphing into the swirling scarlet of a one-tomoe Sharingan.
Meanwhile, Xiao Kuangyun was running blindly through the forest, tripping over roots and branches as he tried desperately to flee. He had no idea where he was going. The only thing he cared about was getting as far away from Yun Che as possible. If he dove into the thickness of the woods, maybe—just maybe—Yun Che wouldn't find him.
It was a fantasy.
Yun Che was already behind him after a few effortless flash-steps.
With the Sharingan active, he wove a genjutsu-like illusion, bending perception and reality together. The moment the technique wrapped around Xiao Kuangyun's consciousness, the world around the fleeing young master twisted.
The forest darkened unnaturally—as if someone had poured ink over the moonlight.
Every shadow stretched, elongated, and began to crawl along the ground like living things.
Kuangyun stumbled to a halt, eyes darting wildly.
The trees loomed closer, distorted.
The wind howled as if the mist itself had turned into a violent storm.
A low growl echoed from somewhere behind him.
He flinched. "Who—?! Who is that?! Show yourself!!!"
The growl deepened.
The wind sharpened.
The shadows convulsed.
A whisper came from right behind his ear.
"You cannot hide."
Xiao Kuangyun whipped around so fast he fell onto his backside. He gasped, trying to push himself away as his trembling legs refused to cooperate.
"I see you…"
A colossal, flaming red eye opened in the darkness before him—larger than his entire body, burning like molten magma, its vertical black pupil locking onto him with predatory hunger.
It moved closer.
And closer.
Xiao Kuangyun screamed as he scrambled backward, kicking, crawling, dragging his own fear along the ground. His pants were soaked—he had lost control of his bladder the moment the eye opened.
"There is no life in the void."
The voice vibrated through his bones as the eye lunged. Xiao Kuangyun screamed again—louder, more primal than he had ever screamed in his life. He ran, yet the shadows chased him. He tripped, yet the wind pulled him deeper. He cried, yet the eye never blinked.
"Ahhhh!!! Ahhhh!!! AHHHH!!!"
His voice cracked into raw, hysterical terror.
"Only death."
The world shattered.
The storm vanished.
The great red eye dissolved like smoke.
And reality returned.
Xiao Kuangyun raised his head, panting, sweat cascading down his face. Standing right in front of him was Yun Che—Zangetsu casually resting on his shoulder, Sharingan glinting, and a cheeky, unbothered grin on his lips. Kuangyun immediately recognized the eyes. They were the same red, merciless eyes that had hunted him in the illusion.
Yun Che had copied a scene from "Lord of the Rings"—and Kuangyun had fallen for it completely.
It worked beautifully.
"Xiao Che, please—please don't kill me!" he cried, collapsing onto his knees. "Please! I'll do anything! I'll be your slave—your dog—anything! Just don't kill me!"
Cornered like a rat, the arrogant young master had become nothing but a sobbing, quivering mess.
Yun Che didn't even flinch.
"Guess you can blame your stupidity for coming after me."
Xiao Kuangyun, shaking violently, tried a different tactic.
"Xiao Che!! If you kill me—the Xiao Sect will come for you! My father will never let you go!"
Yun Che sighed with exaggerated annoyance.
"Why do you idiots always say the same thing? If I let you go, they'll hunt me. If I kill you, they'll still hunt me. So why not kill you and enjoy it?"
He began gathering spirit energy in his hand—lightning crackling, heat radiating, killing intent intensifying.
"No… no, please! I'll stay away from Xiao Lie and Xiao Lingxi! I'll stay away from Xia Qingyue too! I-I swear it! Just let me go!"
Yun Che didn't slow down.
He didn't forgive.
He didn't forget why he came.
He thought of Xia Qingyue—how she stayed, how she helped mislead Kuangyun. Unlike the original Yun Che's tragic relationship with her, this Xia Qingyue had taken risks to protect his family. Maybe she wasn't the cold, distant figure he remembered.
He would look into it later.
"Sorry," Yun Che said coldly, raising his hand as lightning spiraled. "All out of mercy."
But then—
A pressure hit him.
A heavy, crushing, suffocating spiritual pressure.
His eyes widened slightly.
"This… this is Reiatsu?!"
No one in this world cultivated spirit energy.
No one but him.
Yet the pressure was real.
Then he heard it.
"ROOOOOOAAAAARRRR—!!!"
The forest shook. Trees snapped. Birds scattered.
"What in the—?!"
A massive creature burst into view behind the trembling Xiao Kuangyun—towering, monstrous, its limbs thick like ancient trees. It crushed everything in its path. Its face was hidden behind a white mask with sharp, jagged teeth. There were no eyes—only empty holes.
A hole pierced its chest.
A hollow void.
Yun Che's heart dropped.
Not because he was afraid—
But because he recognized it.
"H…Hollows!?"
The nightmare of another world had somehow bled into this one.
And the night was about to get much, much worse.